TV Power Rankings for the Week 5/23/2011 – 5/29/2011

Summer is upon us and the TV schedule is starting to show that. We concluded the seasons of The Chicago Code, Glee, Modern Family, and American Idol. The power rankings are a bit thin, but I’m starting to watch Cougar Town and doing a summer recap on Twin Peaks so I’ll include the in the Power Rankings. Really, The Chicago Code and Game of Thrones were 1 and 1A. Sad to see Code go, but at least we have a really solid stand alone season.

1. The Chicago Code – “Mike Royko’s Revenge”: Just and absolutely fantastic end to a pretty enjoyable season/series. Code really picked up in the last four episodes once they shifted the focus back to Alderman Gibbons. This episode provided so much resolution and justice. Even though we knew what would likely happen, we were still engrossed in the narrative. Fantastic episode.

2. Game of Thrones – “You Win or You Die”: Easily my favorite episode of the series so far. Just a finely crafted episode of TV. There was a lot of foreshadowing leading up to Ned over playing his hand in front of “king” Jioffre. I’m intrigued by the goings on on at the wall with John Snow and Sam. The “sexposition” scene with Little Finger was very gratuitous, but it kind of in a way told us he wasn’t ready to let Ned Stark take over. The Dothraki took another step towards being awesome. Lord Drogo gave an amazing speech about he’s going destroy everything in his path to defend Dany. And that final scene was just so wrought with tension, wow. Great great episode.

3. The Killing – “I’ll Let You Know When I Get There”: Another sharp episode for the show. I’m glad we finally got to see Holder do some real acting again. The episode also had a nice self contained arc with the Belko story. I learned today that SPOILER FOR THE DUTCH VERISON Belko did it in the original Dutch version. So, now is where the story starts to veer from the original. I think as long as the show keeps moving the investigation along, it’ll do nicely.

4. Glee – “New York”: This was a nice ending to and uneven season. The last couple episodes of Glee provided a bit more of a conclusion than this one, but it was really great to see to the kids outside of Ohio. Instead of providing closure, they kind of established dreams and goals for next season. I was glad to see them focus so much on the kids this episode, specifically Finn/Rachel/Quinn. They’re the emotional center of the show and we need to see their journey. The results of Nationals were inconsequential. It was clear they weren’t winning. They weren’t ready. I’m curious to see what they’re going to do with Sue now that she’s supposedly supportive of the club.

5. America’s Best Dance Crew – “Kanye West”: Ok, a serious problem has popped up on ABDC. ICONic Boyz does not belong! Phunk Phenomenon was infinitely better than them and had to be eliminated. I aM mE has been the best crew since Day 1 and it’s not even close. If you watch the two crews dance, you’ll see that it is ZERO contest. I aM mE is doing some of the most creative and imaginative routines and ICONic Boyz are doing very simple talent shows steps. Just because they’re kids doesn’t make them good. They need to be held to the same criteria as others. The show will lose credibility if they win

6. So You Think You Can Dance – “Auditions #1 and #2: Atlanta and the Bay Area”: I think it’s going to shape up to be a good season. It’s hard to include an audition show amongst all these finales. I really do think that the show is so masterfully put together. I enjoy the host, Cat Deeley very much. And the lead judge, Nigel Lithgowe, is knowledgeable and affable. I also enjoy that they celebrate dance, and encourage everyone to dance. This is why they don’t labor on poor auditions.

7. Modern Family – “The One That Got Away”: Again, not my favorite Modern Family. I think the show needs to kind of decide just how well it can combine heart with laughs. They used to be able to put the two together with ease, but now it seems like one or the other. I think perhaps this one was a bit clunky because I don’t particularly enjoy the Claire and Mitchell pairing on screen. Also, Jay being on his own is not a good use of his time. And I think we’ve seen the ceiling on Manny’s acting ability.

8. Treme – “Feels Like Rain”: Not my favorite episode of the season. Had it’s moments of entertainment, but I voiced some concerns last week about the forward momentum being in danger of being stopped. I think it kind of manifested itself here. Doesn’t help that we saw a lot of Toni, Terri Colson and Nelson Hidalgo.

9. American Idol – Winner Announced: So that happened. We’ve seen this coming for weeks. Scotty has an amazing voice, but he’s boring. Lauren was probably the worst possible person to go up against him. Same voting audience and same style. Haley or James would have at least been interesting. But alas, we conclude the most boring season of American Idol ever. Next time, I hope the judges decide to, you know, judge.